The Fall Guy is hugely entertaining. A love letter to stuntmen and filmmaking in general, it’s a romantic comedy for everyone who hates romantic comedies and an action thriller for those who are less keen on that genre. It’s old-fashioned entertainment, the kind of Hollywood production designed to entertain above all else. A movie where you don’t need to take notes or have seen the ones that came before it. The Fall Guy wants to entertain you. It wants to put the blinding star power of two of the industry’s most charismatic leads in fun, romantic situations and see what happens. It wants to remind viewers of a time when stunt work mattered more than it does in the CGI era and embrace the team aspect of filmmaking in a manner that’s infectious and, well, wildly entertaining. This is a hugely fun movie, anchored by a movie star in a part that fits him perfectly and a director who really has been working toward this film for his entire career

David Leitch started as a stunt double, working with actors like Brad Pitt, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Matt Damon, and many more. His directorial debut was a little film called John Wick, and he parlayed that success into films like Atomic Blonde and Bullet Train. He returns to his roots in The Fall Guy, inspired by the Lee Majors TV show of the same name about a Hollywood stuntman who also happened to be a bounty hunter. Little narrative DNA is shared with the show beyond a profession and a name. Still, this version does have the general tone of ‘80s television in the way it blends a bit of humour, romance, mystery, and action into the mix, willing to drop references to the action stars that inspired it while also carving out its own personality

Ryan Gosling is tremendously charismatic as the new Colt Seavers, giving one of those broadly magnetic performances that made him so likeable in films like The Nice Guysbut also leaning on some acting skills and intensity that should remind fans of his iconic turn in Drive. The Fall Guy is very much about the people behind the scenes of the movie industry, but it’s almost more of an ode to the era of the movie star when a performer could hold a viewer over any narrative speedbump

Colt is introduced on set as the double to a diva action star named Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). He’s romantically involved with camera operator Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). Then Colt has a bad accident on set, and while recovering his health, he loses his self-confidence and vanishes from the movie-making scene, leaving behind his girlfriend, Jody (Emily Blunt) and maybe the industry for good. Fast-forward 18 months, and Jody’s graduated to a director’s role, helming a Western-flavoured, alien-populated sci-fi rom-com action thriller. Its odious producer (Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham) lures Colt back into the business to work on that movie, once again as stunt double to Ryder

As Colt rekindles his love affair with Jody on set, the plot takes a thrilling turn. Ryder disappears, and it’s up to Colt to find him. The Fall Guy evolves into a mystery punctuated by breathtaking action sequences, with the odd romantic interlude – Taylor Swift songs included – thrown in for good measure

Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, Teresa Palmer, and a French-speaking action dog complete a great cast. More needle drops from the era of the show, including recurring use of the very recognisable riff of “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” by KISS, feel like a nod to both the era of the original series and when they made more action-rom-coms like this in Hollywood

A theme of The Fall Guy is how stunt people have to put their lives at risk, narrowly avoid injury, and, hopefully, give a thumbs up as a sign that they’re okay. They’re people who never get credit but have made so many classic films that they are in our collective memory. So, naturally, The Fall Guy has to include some insane stunt work, including a record-breaking cannon roll stunt, an incredible fight in a spinning dumpster, and more than one massive vehicle jump. Leitch and his team find a great balance between character, comedy, and action, although it is worth noting that Blunt kind of takes a back seat in the second half of the film, which is disappointing after the pair’s excellent chemistry in the first. Hsu also feels a little wasted, although Waddingham and Duke get to have some fun, especially the latter, who gets to remind viewers that he can do some of everything

Kudos also to Ryan Gosling’s stunt actors – Justin Eaton, Troy Brown, Logan Holladay, and Ben Jenkin. Leitch couldn’t have done the movie without you. Well done, chaps!

With a message that should resonate with anyone worried about AI and deep fakes, The Fall Guy feels like a pushback against all the CGI-heavy, character-less, humourless blockbusters that have been coming off the content production line over the last few years. It’s actively – and its detractors would likely argue too aggressively – trying simply to provide ticket buyers with what too often feels like a secondary concern in big movies lately: fun